One of the most important protective measures a business owner can make is disaster recovery for data, though unfortunately it is also one of the most overlooked. Many business owners tempt fate by not implementing a thorough and detailed disaster plan because, they are either optimistic about the chances of them experiencing a natural disaster or service outage, or are ignorant of how damaging business down-time can be. The figures reveal that a great deal of businesses fall into this category, with around 40% of businesses shutting down after a disaster, and the same percentage failing if they cannot obtain access to their data within 24 hours.
In business, there is a distinction between optimism and complacency; obviously we don’t want to think about the worst case scenario, but as the saying goes ‘hope for the best, expect the worst’. The best way to expect the worst is by using a disaster recovery service, which provides off-site storage for full-proof and insured data protection. They keyword here is off-site, which contrasts with local backup systems on the business premises, which is common for many businesses who understand the risks but do not want to pay for a reliable data recovery service.
The worst practise I have commonly witnessed for businesses not wanting to fork-out, is them having data backups in the same room as the all-important data systems. Didn’t their mothers ever tell them not to ever put all their eggs in one basket? It is beyond me that anyone can believe this is a sensible action, as having backups in the same room as the system means they will all be destroyed in the event of fire or another disaster. Backups should at the very least, be stored in the most secure part of the premises, such as in a fire-resistant safe below ground. There is still non-zero risk here, and the only truly secure backup method is through remote data storage.
Recovering your data
There are plenty of remote storage services which provide trusted solutions for data archiving and disaster recovery services. When a disaster does occur, it is their job to quickly locate and retrieve the stored data (usually from tapes), transport it to wherever you need it, and work with your own employees to restore the data and get your business back on track as quickly as possible. Many services offer security compliance measures for sensitive data, with secure data locations only accessible by authorised staff. When you choose a provider, you will decide upon your own backup routine which should reflect the extent and flow of your important data.
Data recovery is the most important part, but services also provide a range of extra provisions to ensure that you are as prepared as possible, such as helping you come up with a detailed disaster plan, providing your employees with their own responsibilities in such an event.
The end of the story?
Nope. The fact is that your data means nothing if your physical hardware is fried, and having an offsite configuration is the solution for this, with more and more companies turning towards the cloud for such services. Setting up a separate Internet account is also good in case your ISP is affected by a disaster.
By Nathan Morgan who has been a IT professional for 14 Years his work is currently focused on Linux servers, he is experienced in methods of encryption including True Crypt and other alternatives, he has a great depth of knowledge in document scanning solutions including both off line and digital data.
By: Nathan Morgan
I have a nightly bash script that will tar my financial records, /var/www and MySQL and upload them to my Box.net account. It also is a rolling backup, only keeping the 8 most recent backups.
I'm not sure how far I would trust Box.net, Dropbox, etc. I would consider adding a layer of encryption between tar and upload just to make sure no third parties ever have access to your data, especially your financials.